Sleepy Hollow

Candlelight Concerts' Performing Art Series for Children will present a musical adaptation of Washington Irving's classic tale The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Performances will be held at 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday in Smith Theatre at Howard Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. The production by Theatre IV, which is "more funny than scary," according to the group's literature, is suitable for children ages 4 to 11. Theatre IV, a nonprofit professional theater company for young audiences, is based in Richmond, Va., and Cincinnati.

By Mary Johnson and Mary Johnson,Special to the Sun | October 26, 2007

Leaving Maryland Hall auditorium in Annapolis after the Ballet Theatre of Maryland performance Saturday, I saw Severna Park neighbor George Helwig, who confessed that he has "always been a dance nut from classical ballet to hip-hop" and had just enjoyed his first Ballet Theatre performance. "I'm surprised at what a treasure the citizens of this state have in this company, and I can't understand why all these seats aren't filled," Helwig said. Outside the auditorium, I relayed Helwig's comments to ballet aficionado Thea Pinskey.

Editor's note: In this retelling of the Washington Irving classic, schoolteacher Ichabod Crane encounters a ghostly vision as he returns from a late-night party.So Ichabod rode Gunpowder to the party. Brom Bones came, too, on his fine black horse, Daredevil.Ichabod danced every dance with Katrina because he was such a good dancer. Brom Bones sat in a corner by himself.When the dancing ended, people started telling stories - ghost stories. Ichabod listened to them all. And Ichabod believed them.

The Original Knickerbocker The Life of Washington Irving By Andrew Burstein Basic Books / 420 pages / $27.50 Few Americans read Washington Irving today. The author of short-story classics like "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," influential biographies of Christopher Columbus and George Washington and popular travelogues is largely confined to the syllabuses of upper-level college and graduate-school classrooms. Irving's sentimental and English style lost favor over the 19th and 20th centuries, especially compared with the tall tales of Davy Crockett, the social criticism of Mark Twain and the plebeian poetry of Walt Whitman.

By Mary Johnson and Mary Johnson,Special to the Sun | October 26, 2007

Leaving Maryland Hall auditorium in Annapolis after the Ballet Theatre of Maryland performance Saturday, I saw Severna Park neighbor George Helwig, who confessed that he has "always been a dance nut from classical ballet to hip-hop" and had just enjoyed his first Ballet Theatre performance. "I'm surprised at what a treasure the citizens of this state have in this company, and I can't understand why all these seats aren't filled," Helwig said. Outside the auditorium, I relayed Helwig's comments to ballet aficionado Thea Pinskey.

Blood flows prodigiously, spurts spontaneously and puddles luxuriously in "Sleepy Hollow," Tim Burton's very loose adaptation of the Washington Irving story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." As usual, Burton has his finger right on the pulse of audiences looking for frightening flights of fancy, creating a wonderfully atmospheric world that is gloomily enchanted with murderous spirits, vengeful ghosts and supernatural dervishes of destruction.Which makes it all the more disappointing when Burton -- who, after all, brought us the first two "Batman" movies as well as the morbidly visionary "Edward Scissorhands" -- nudges the entire enterprise over the top with googly-eyed skeletons, a megaplex-friendly action sequence set in a windmill and way, way too many rolling-head shots.

By Mary Johnson and Mary Johnson,SPECIAL TO THE SUN | October 28, 2004

Artistic director Dianna Cuatto began Ballet Theatre of Maryland's 2004-2005 season at new artistic heights in the neo-classic "Italian Symphonette" and innovative "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Her choreography for the performances Friday and Saturday at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts challenged and showcased the dancers, moving the company in exciting new directions. Felix Mendelssohn's "Italian Symphony" is a romantic work that evokes the color of the Italian landscape. This was reflected in Cuatto's choreography, created in 2001 to honor choreographer George Balanchine.

The Original Knickerbocker The Life of Washington Irving By Andrew Burstein Basic Books / 420 pages / $27.50 Few Americans read Washington Irving today. The author of short-story classics like "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," influential biographies of Christopher Columbus and George Washington and popular travelogues is largely confined to the syllabuses of upper-level college and graduate-school classrooms. Irving's sentimental and English style lost favor over the 19th and 20th centuries, especially compared with the tall tales of Davy Crockett, the social criticism of Mark Twain and the plebeian poetry of Walt Whitman.

NASA's Spirit rover beamed back a three-dimensional, 360-degree view of its Gusev Crater landing site on Mars yesterday, a prelude to the more spectacular high-definition color images expected today. Yesterday morning's news conference at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., where the photograph was revealed, was a scene reminiscent of a 1950s-era movie. Reporters and National Aeronautics and Space Administration team members donned 3-D glasses and jaws dropped as the rocks and depressions just beyond the lander emerged in high relief.

At midmorning in Lansdowne Elementary School, half of one third-grade class is working with half of the other. Nearby, a small group of youngsters is clustered around a table in what used to be a book closet; another dozenregrouping youngsters throughout the day. Started in Virginia 20 years ago and now creeping into other states, the innovation is designed to create small classes -- even when enrollment is up and staffing down.It is a far cry from most elementary classes, which spend most of the day in one room with a single teacher handling all the basic subjects.

By Mary Johnson and Mary Johnson,SPECIAL TO THE SUN | October 28, 2004

Artistic director Dianna Cuatto began Ballet Theatre of Maryland's 2004-2005 season at new artistic heights in the neo-classic "Italian Symphonette" and innovative "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Her choreography for the performances Friday and Saturday at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts challenged and showcased the dancers, moving the company in exciting new directions. Felix Mendelssohn's "Italian Symphony" is a romantic work that evokes the color of the Italian landscape. This was reflected in Cuatto's choreography, created in 2001 to honor choreographer George Balanchine.

NASA's Spirit rover beamed back a three-dimensional, 360-degree view of its Gusev Crater landing site on Mars yesterday, a prelude to the more spectacular high-definition color images expected today. Yesterday morning's news conference at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., where the photograph was revealed, was a scene reminiscent of a 1950s-era movie. Reporters and National Aeronautics and Space Administration team members donned 3-D glasses and jaws dropped as the rocks and depressions just beyond the lander emerged in high relief.

By Stephen G. Henderson and Stephen G. Henderson,Special to the Sun | April 27, 2003

In the abbreviated argot of Manhattan real estate ads, I have a "Riv Vu." Meaning that from my Upper West Side apartment, I can see the Hudson River. This far south, the Hudson's majesty is nearly overshadowed by skyscrapers, and must also defer to the Atlantic Ocean, whose tides sweep upriver for miles each day. However, the view always entices and makes me pensive. Sure, the Mississippi River may be longer, and the Colorado more scenic, but only the Hudson meanders through a valley haunted by the ghosts of John D. Rockefeller, Benedict Arnold, Edgar Allan Poe and even the Buddha Bodhisattva.

Candlelight Concerts' Performing Art Series for Children will present a musical adaptation of Washington Irving's classic tale The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Performances will be held at 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday in Smith Theatre at Howard Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. The production by Theatre IV, which is "more funny than scary," according to the group's literature, is suitable for children ages 4 to 11. Theatre IV, a nonprofit professional theater company for young audiences, is based in Richmond, Va., and Cincinnati.

Blood flows prodigiously, spurts spontaneously and puddles luxuriously in "Sleepy Hollow," Tim Burton's very loose adaptation of the Washington Irving story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." As usual, Burton has his finger right on the pulse of audiences looking for frightening flights of fancy, creating a wonderfully atmospheric world that is gloomily enchanted with murderous spirits, vengeful ghosts and supernatural dervishes of destruction.Which makes it all the more disappointing when Burton -- who, after all, brought us the first two "Batman" movies as well as the morbidly visionary "Edward Scissorhands" -- nudges the entire enterprise over the top with googly-eyed skeletons, a megaplex-friendly action sequence set in a windmill and way, way too many rolling-head shots.

WHAT'S A MIZPAP? Well, Marylanders from Oakland to Smith Island know about Mizpaps. The common pronunciation of the acronym for the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) can be used as a noun, adjective or verb.As in, "Let's Mizpap that assignment."Last week, I found a school that's been more thoroughly Mizpapped than any other in my wide acquaintance. Leith Walk Elementary in Northeast Baltimore has infused elements of the state's performance program into virtually everything it does.

WHAT'S A MIZPAP? Well, Marylanders from Oakland to Smith Island know about Mizpaps. The common pronunciation of the acronym for the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) can be used as a noun, adjective or verb.As in, "Let's Mizpap that assignment."Last week, I found a school that's been more thoroughly Mizpapped than any other in my wide acquaintance. Leith Walk Elementary in Northeast Baltimore has infused elements of the state's performance program into virtually everything it does.

That's some nice package they're putting together to entice the "reluctant" Kweisi Mfume into declaring his candidacy for mayor. The General Assembly loosened up the city residency requirements so the NAACP president, who had been living the last few years in Baltimore County, could run for mayor. (Mfume bought a condominium in the city last month.) The governor will probably sign the bill tomorrow.As a further enticement, some members of the City Council want to increase the mayor's salary from $90,000 to $150,000.

That's some nice package they're putting together to entice the "reluctant" Kweisi Mfume into declaring his candidacy for mayor. The General Assembly loosened up the city residency requirements so the NAACP president, who had been living the last few years in Baltimore County, could run for mayor. (Mfume bought a condominium in the city last month.) The governor will probably sign the bill tomorrow.As a further enticement, some members of the City Council want to increase the mayor's salary from $90,000 to $150,000.

Editor's note: In this retelling of the Washington Irving classic, schoolteacher Ichabod Crane encounters a ghostly vision as he returns from a late-night party.So Ichabod rode Gunpowder to the party. Brom Bones came, too, on his fine black horse, Daredevil.Ichabod danced every dance with Katrina because he was such a good dancer. Brom Bones sat in a corner by himself.When the dancing ended, people started telling stories - ghost stories. Ichabod listened to them all. And Ichabod believed them.